A resident evacuated from Lebel-sur-Quévillon saw chilling images when she hit the road yesterday to flee the forest fires and get to the checkpoint at the Senneterre arena.
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“It was like a fire monster,” says Jacynthe Barrette, who lives near the beach at Lac Quévillon in northern Quebec.
“I have never seen that. Yes, there was a big fire in 1995, but it’s nothing like it because this one is much closer,” says the lady who posted a video on her Facebook page before leaving her house.
Mme Barrette, who works in the offices of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, left for her residence around 4 p.m. and she hastened to pack her suitcase while waiting for instructions from public security.
“I didn’t want to forget my medication. The minute the sirens started in town, I said to my roommate: “go on part!”»
At the exit of the city, the motorists respected the indications of the Sûreté du Québec, and the evacuation took place without gestures of panic.
“We were driving around 100 km/h, no one was overtaking the others and the sky was black, black, black. It was beyond reality,” she says.
Ash to Val-d’Or
After a stop at the Senneterre arena, Jacynthe Barrette was able to go to Val-d’Or to spend the night in a hotel.
“It’s not pranks, there are ashes on my car, the ashes fell as far as Val-d’Or,” she said, referring to the distance of about 150 kilometers that separates the two municipalities.
In the next few hours, the lady will consider the possibility of visiting her family in the Témiscamingue region.
In the aftermath of the evacuation, she was happy to see that all her friends and the citizens of the area were safe, despite the inconveniences of the forest fires.